Be Still My Beating Heart
by Renegadecat
Summary: Axel and Roxas find themselves in Twilight Town and while Roxas remembers everyone else, Axel is surprisingly absent from his memories, can Axel prove that true love can never be forgotten?
1. Chapter 1

**WARNING: This story contains explicit sexual content between two men! If you're not into that sort of thing: DON'T READ THIS STORY! This story takes place at the same time as Second Chance to Love so you don't have to read that story first to understand this one. Axel and Roxas aren't mine but LeAnn is and so is the plot!**

**CHAPTER ONE**

The darkness wasn't so much a place anymore; it was a state of mind. At least, that's how Axel felt as he floated there on his back looking upwards. At least he assumed it was upwards, there were no definitive directions here in the inky blackness that stretched on forever. He closed his eyes as he remembered /his/ smile. So full of life and energy, he'd been drawn to it, like a moth to a flame, how lame was that? The darkness must be getting to him. Ah but he wanted Roxas, that's why he'd gone after Kairi, and Sora, trying to get him back, trying to convince him he needed to give up his heart. But would the loss of Sora's heart produce the same Roxas? He hadn't let himself think about that, even though Demyx had said the same thing. Ah Dem…did he know how much Xigbar cried when he was killed? Of course Xigbar would never show it to anyone else but he'd been miserable when he was alone with Axel.

Because they'd known him so well.

Heaving a deep sigh that wrapped leisurely around his body to smother him further he turned over and stared downwards for some time. "I don't want to be here anymore," he finally said. These were the first words he'd spoken since he came here, he had figured that no one would hear him, so what was the point in saying them out loud? But these words he did and he was determined to see them through. "I don't want to be here anymore, I want to get out!" he started shouting. "Let me out, let me out!" Each shout was louder and louder, more frantic as he thrashed and kicked trying to ward off the impending darkness that seemed to close in on him the more he struggled. When he had finally exhausted himself he felt the impatient tendrils wrap him up like a spider in a web. Perhaps he should have just stayed still.

"You still need help?" A female voice twittered around him.

"Yes please," Axel sighed. At this point he wasn't going to argue with his hallucinations (which he now seemed to be having). But regardless of his hallucinations he was dropped from the cocoon of darkness and floated again. Though he couldn't see who helped him, he felt warmer somehow, he could feel the other person there. "That's it?" he demanded a bit ungratefully. But the voice twittered again with a girlish giggle so he didn't think manners mattered.

"Have fun with your new heart," was all the voice told him before a deep pain lashed across his chest, erupting into the fire he so often controlled. Before he could shout, or speak, or protest the darkness suddenly opened beneath him with a brilliant flash of light and with a strangled shout, he dropped neatly through.

-----

Axel woke in an instant as if he'd been having a nightmare. He struggled in his black bed sheets for a moment before he realized he was in bed. Panting heavily he gripped his thumping chest and looked at it strangely. What had that girl said? "Enjoy your new heart…"

He had a heart…HE HAD A HEART! With a shout of joy he jumped out of bed and ran to the window. He threw it open prepared to shout into the streets about how he had a heart when he stopped suddenly. A familiar town was sprawled before him, the people looked up at him curiously as if expecting him to jump naked from his window, but he didn't do that, oh no, Axel had other idea's for his nakedness and instantly looked around for Roxas.

Of course to his immense disappointment Roxas was nowhere to be found. He checked every room and every floor of the three-story house he currently lived in. How long he'd been living here he didn't know since the house was messy in some places (like the kitchen) and spotless in other's (like the dining room). Finally Axel had to admit that wherever Roxas was it was nowhere near this house. He went into the kitchen to get some food and was startled to find a note for him on the fridge. He took it down and examined it carefully.

"Axel, enjoy your new heart, just try and remember what it's for!" the note said and scrawled on the bottom was a signature in a language he'd never seen before. Try and remember what his heart was for? Of course he knew what a heart was for! He smirked haughtily and crumpled the not, tossing it absently into the overflowing trash bin. Ugh, after some breakfast he'd have to do something about the messes scattered around this house, he'd noticed on his house search that his bedroom was a pigsty as well.

After eating cold cereal Axel busied himself by cleaning the kitchen and his bedroom and the office that was scattered with various papers inked with designs. It took him a moment as he sifted through them that he was an architect. The fact that he was talented at designing buildings made him swell with pride, it was lame yes, but at least he wasn't a bum or something. And the house itself was very nice and was located in a nice neighborhood, which meant that he was well off. A haughty smirk graced his lips, he was an older, rich, (sinfully handsome) man, Roxas (wherever he was) would swoon at the idea of Axel taking an interest in him. Suddenly all those dirty little fantasies that Axel had wanted to try popped into his mind and he almost melted into the floor in satisfaction. With a very wicked grin coating his face for the rest of the morning Axel tidied his new house and showered. It wasn't until he looked into the mirror that he noticed that the black marks under his eyes were gone. While he missed them, he supposed it would be odd for him to have them now, vaguely he wondered if Saix would have that large scar on his face if he had a heart…probably, he concluded as he set about brushing his hair out and securing it in a simple ponytail.

After dressing casually in jeans and a black oxford shirt he stepped outside and immediately set to rolling up his sleeves. He'd always been hotter than normal and apparently it was summer time in Twilight Town. Finally he was ready to pursue Roxas, at least that's what he thought. Just as he was about to take his first and most triumphant step onto the streets of Twilight Town, a paper hit him square in the face.

"Stop right there you asshole!" an angry feminine voice assaulted him. Axel swore a blue streak for a minute straight before his eyes locked onto his attacker. It was a woman, possibly no taller than his shoulder also dressed in jeans and a baby blue blouse that complimented her slim figure. Her brown hair was soft and curly, though she had tugged it back into a sloppy bun that was secured only by what looked like Chinese eating utensils. In one arm she clutched a large bag and leather bound book and in the other she waved around a small cellphone. "I've been trying to call you all morning, Clarice is pissed and you have an appointment with Richard Talbit in five minutes!" she screamed at him as she pushed him out of the way into his house. He began to protest but the mysterious woman threw a coat at him from out of the closet. He observed her for a moment; she obviously knew where she was going as she stomped upstairs into the office for a few moments and then stomped back down. "Your phone wasn't even turned on no wonder you didn't hear me calling you!" she ranted as she shoved the now operational device into his face. He took it from her quickly afraid that she was going to lob it through his ears if he didn't comply. The small cellphone told him in short order that the woman Clarice had called him six times and that another woman named LeAnn had tried a total of twenty-five.

The small woman ranting at him must be LeAnn. "So um…a meeting with Richard Talbit?" Axel ventured, LeAnn whirled on him.

"Yeah remember? I made it a week ago and you were so dead set on meeting him!" she told him before she grabbed his hand and pulled him outside.

"Are you my girlfriend?" Axel finally asked. LeAnn stopped and looked at him like he'd kicked her in the stomach.

"Hell no, you're way to arrogant for me, besides we've known each other since we were kids, there's no way in hell I'd date you, I consider you a loving, slightly mental older brother, you know that Axel you asked me once, good lord you're not drunk are you?" she demanded. Axel quickly shook his head no. "Good, anyway don't bring up the word "girlfriend" when I'm around with Claries or she'll freak, she already thinks you're cheating on her with me, you know the whole "you're being unfaithful with the secretary thing," she chattered on as they finally walked down the streets of Twilight Town.

Everything was going too fast for Axel to firmly grip it. He thought he'd be starting a brand new life, and he was, but apparently his body had been living this life before he had been released from the darkness. The woman named LeAnn was probably his secretary, she'd said as much in her earlier tirade. The Clarice woman she mentioned was his girlfriend apparently and this Richard Talbit guy was obviously important if LeAnn was making such a fuss about meeting him. He wondered (correctly) if the meeting had something to do with all the drawings he had seen on his desk. They boarded the Trolley on the next block and as they rode in it (LeAnn was still talking) Axel looked around hopefully to see Roxas wandering around somewhere, and while he saw a multitude of teenagers he couldn't see any that looked familiar.

"AXEL!" LeAnn's bitching cut through his daydreams and he had to move quickly in order to jump off the Trolley before it started moving. He looked around to see that they were near the center of town just outside a posh office building made of the familiar red bricks like the rest of the town. "Sheesh, alright good luck, here are your plans," she fussed around him, tucking in tags and straightening his hair before she handed him a folder and stepped back. "Knock him dead!" she told him as the door opened and a young man walked out.

"Oh! You must be Axel Raskoph! Nice to meet you I'm Sam Kern, Richard Talbit's assistant!" he said shaking his hand enthusiastically. "Hey LeAnn are you coming in?" he asked as his excited eyes turned to Axel's own assistant.

She gave him a very cold glare and tossed her head. "No, unlike Richard, my baby can handle his own meetings without me," she told him flat. Sam bristled for a moment but didn't say anything. "Good luck!" she told Axel with a friendly wink before she walked away.

"Please follow me," Sam asked sullenly now as he held the door open for Axel. Axel followed warily, now that he was alone with his thoughts, and very soon Richard Talbit he had no idea how he was supposed to conduct this meeting. He sat down wearily in the chair that Sam offered him inside the neat and orderly office and waited for Richard to meet with him. While he sat there he quickly opened the folder that LeAnn had given him and poured over the plans. To his surprise (and immense relief) he found that he knew exactly what all the notes on the plans meant and he had even drawn a very detailed map of the location of the building and suddenly, Axel realized that building this building would be wrong, to build it they'd need to demolish a preschool that had stood there for over fifty years. There was no reason to eject the occupants for the land and turn it into a highrise, there were plenty of other places to build, and many with better locations! He flipped through the pages trying to find answers when his phone suddenly rang. He looked down to see that LeAnn was already trying to reach him. He thought about ignoring it, in fact it was a reflex how quickly his thumb silenced the thing. But then he thought better of it.

"Hello?" he whispered.

"Axel, thank god you answered I thought you were going to ignore me like you always do. I know we argued about it but I wanted to tell you one last time. Talbit has a grudge against the owner of the preschool he wants to demolish, and that's not all, he also plans on knocking down some of the more historical buildings here in Twilight Town because he wants to expand this new idea of glass and steel," Axel could hear her almost pleading now. "You need to stand up to him Axel, he'll listen to you, you're the most respected architect in this city! Please!" and with that she hung up on him, and the timing couldn't have been better since another man walked in and embraced him firmly by the hand.

"Axel Raskoph! What an honor to meet you, I presume you have those plans I asked you for?" he asked with a genial smile as he went to sit down.

"I won't build your buildings," Axel suddenly heard himself say as he kept standing. "It's unnecessary for you to want to tear down historic buildings and preschools to erect monoliths of glass and steel, if you want to build a brick highrise on a piece of land outside the town that's fine, there is plenty of land there, but I will not sit here and design things for you if you continue down this path. Here are some alternate plans I've drawn up for you, I hope that you look at them and reconsider your approach," Axel said with a bit of warning as he set the other plans down on the desk and walked out without waiting for Richard to answer.

He kept his composure as he walked outside but once there he sat down heavily and reeled. What a rush! It was like he wasn't even there; it was like a totally automatic response that he'd been practicing his whole life! He rubbed his eyes and shoulders, infusing heat in his touch to ease the sore muscles. He'd done it without thinking and would continue to do so, after all he was used to his powers why would he be surprised to still have them?

"AXEL!" LeAnn's voice cut through him like cold water. He looked up to see her walking towards him, teetering precariously on her high heels as she kept a firm grip on the hooded youth next to her. "Yay! I'm so glad that you're here and not still in there, I knew you'd show him what for!" she squealed as she hugged him. "Oh here, this is your dinner reservation for you and Clarice tonight, I made you one and arranged for flowers to be sent to her since she's pissed at you, you might want to stop by the jewelry store and get the wench something nice," she drawled. Axel got the distinct feeling that LeAnn and Clarice did not get along. "Oh! And before I forget, Axel, this is my baby cousin, he'll be staying with me for awhile since his parents are on an extended vacation!" She reached up and yanked down the boy's hood quickly revealing spiked blonde hair and familiar, defiant blue eyes. "Say hi to my cousin Roxas, Roxas, say hi to Axel!" she gushed.

Axel's mouth dropped open in shock, and if he thought that was weird, he was going to be in for a huge surprise…HUGE.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

_"Oh! And before I forget, Axel, this is my baby cousin; he'll be staying with me for awhile since his parents are on an extended vacation!" She reached up and yanked down the boy's hood quickly revealing spiked blonde hair and familiar, defiant blue eyes. "Say hi to my cousin Roxas, Roxas, say hi to Axel!" LeAnn gushed. _

It was like a dream come true, a strange, yet oddly satisfying dream come true. He should have jumped up and down and shouted with joy but he had composed himself and had shaken the boys hand without any hint of wanting to secretly molest him, which he might have tried if the ever alert green eyes of his assistant (aka Roxas' hovering cousin aka LeAnn the assistant from hell) hadn't been boring holes into the side of his head. He'd gotten through the introductions without a single (okay, without too many) lewd thoughts and then excused himself for the rest of the day.

So it was at this point that he found himself lying on his now made bed staring up at the ceiling fan. He needed a plan, a plan to get Roxas alone, without LeAnn, long enough to make him remember who he was and why he was there. He heaved a sigh and rubbed his eyes wearily. Maybe he just needed more sleep since it was obvious he was getting no ideas just letting his eyes wander around the room. But when he turned on his side and curled up he couldn't help the feeling of loneliness that welled up in his chest. LeAnn had said that he was like an older brother to her, that meant that they spent a lot of time together right? And that other woman Clarice, the one that was supposed to be his lover, why didn't she live with him? He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the card that LeAnn had given him. It told him that the reservation was in a few hours at a fancy restaurant on the other side of town. Since Axel had no intention of continuing his sleepwalking affair with some woman, he didn't think it necessary to change his clothes.

After catching a boring nap (no dirty Roxas dreams) Axel woke up and stretched lazily before rubbing his eyes and wandering into his bathroom to brush his teeth. After his oral hygiene was seen to he turned his cell phone on and waited for all the alerts to stop playing before he checked to see who had called. Clarice again and LeAnn, but she had only called once, somehow, Axel felt that was important. He dialed in the message code automatically and put the phone to his ear.

"Axel, hey it's LeAnn, I got a call from my parents and I have to go out of town for a few days can you keep an eye on Roxas for me? I mean, I know it's stupid and everything he's old enough to take care of himself but I'm still worried about him, I think he's still pretty upset about moving here! Anyway I'm getting on the bus now to leave, I'll call you in a few hours thanks!" the line clicked and was dead. After erasing the message he slipped the phone into the back pocket currently unoccupied by his wallet with a feral smirk. He really was a lucky dog all things considered.

-----

Whistling merrily as he walked casually into the fancy restaurant where he was supposed to see Clarice, he was a bit shocked to notice that everyone treated him like a regular. He remembered everyone's names and where his "usual" table was so he decided not to think too much into it, honestly all these automatic reactions were saving his butt. He approached the table slowly, eyeing the vivid redhead sitting there with thinly veiled disgust; she wasn't even a natural redhead if he recalled so he didn't know why she insisted on coloring her hair the same as his. She looked up as his shadow fell across the table and frowned at him.

"About time you got here!" she snapped quietly in order to appear gracious and kind in front of the other patrons. Axel however had no intention of holding to such ridiculous notions of grace and manners. Eyeing her critically he picked up her glass of water and tossed it on her. She screeched and sputtered like a feral cat, standing up so quickly she knocked her chair over. "What did you do that for?" she screamed at him, her mascara running down her face. Axel smiled.

"It's over Clarice, I'm in love with someone else," he shrugged. She didn't seem surprised but nonetheless she slapped him anyway, scratching his cheek in the process with her sharp (though beautifully manicured nails).

"It's LeAnn isn't it? I always knew you were doing her on the side!" she reached up to slap him again when he deftly caught her wrist and glared coldly at her.

"LeAnn has been my best friend since we were kids, regardless of the fact that she is indeed, three years younger than me. I could never, EVER look at her that way and if I did I would surely be sick. But you see there's something special about LeAnn that you'll never understand, she treats people like they're people, and you're just a bitch." He informed her as he gently but firmly steered her back into her seat and pushed her down into her chair, taking great care not to harm her though he wouldn't have minded ordering a heartless or two on her. He turned his back on her and walked away all smiles and whistles knowing that this was the last he'd see of her, in fact he couldn't wait for LeAnn to call so he could tell her. Best friends eh? Demyx had been his best friend, and so had Roxas, he supposed that he could get used to one more, even if she was a…well…she.

With Clarice being taken care of Axel did the only other think he could think of, he went in search of LeAnn's posh house in search of her oh so poor and unprotected cousin, Roxas.

Mission: Accepted.

-----

Roxas was frustrated, but he wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because he still had fresh memories of the organization that left a bitter taste in his mouth, or maybe it was because he was having some strange dreams lately that involved a faceless man that he could not even begin to name and they were doing things that Roxas was embarrassed to even be thinking about. Or maybe it had something to do with the fact that he had no idea how he came to be here or why his chest thumped irritatingly as if to constantly remind him he had a heart.

The real reason though, oddly enough was that Roxas, like many teenage boys, hated being confined. He'd practically been ordered by his new cousin LeAnn to stay in the house and not go outside. Of course she totally ruined the utterly bitchy moment by hugging him so hard he could swear he heard his ribs crack and kissing his cheek. That was strange in of itself. He remembered waking up suddenly after being in the darkness to find himself staring at two older adults as they told him goodbye before he boarded the bus that led him here. The moment he got off he was scooped up by the intrepid LeAnn and introduced to her boss Axel Raskoph. Roxas vaguely wondered if they were dating, after all who introduces their cousins to their boss?

Currently he sat in the living room glaring at his cousins' art decorated walls, for someone so commanding she sure had a taste for girly things, for some reason Roxas thought the house would look more butch. While there was no trace of pink in the house (Roxas had conducted a quick search when she had left) there was a subtle and persistent air of femininity that hung around the elegant furniture and artwork. The fresh flowers everywhere helped too. Finally he'd had enough and with a quick upward jump he reached out and grabbed his skateboard, determined to escape the house.

He grabbed the spare house keys and shoved them into his pocket before he locked the door behind him and tossed the skateboard carelessly on the cobblestone street. Not thinking twice he leapt upon it and glided gracefully around the gently bustling street. He lazily wove his way though shoppers and families home from the market and tried to do a few jumps. When he finally turned around to head for home he decided to try and jump a short cart that was parked in the middle of the street and after gaining speed successfully jumped it, it was the landing however that kicked his ass.

With a garbled shout Roxas flew through the air and expected the worse when two strong arms caught him quickly and righted him. "Hey there kiddo, good thing I happened to be in the neighborhood!" Axel's voice teased him from above. Roxas found himself blushing, how embarrassing to be caught by a guy! He quickly pulled away and brushed himself off, quickly assuming a very offended but calm face.

"I meant to do that, it's called practice!" he huffed. Axel just laughed at him again and his shoulders fell considerably.

"Don't be smart kid, it doesn't suit you," he shrugged.

"What are you doing here anyway? LeAnn's not here she went out of town!" Roxas informed him as he went to retrieve his skateboard.

"Yeah I know, she asked me to keep an eye on you," Axel drawled, hands in his pockets, the picture of adult relaxation. The tips of Roxas' ears turned pink.

"I'm not a kid for crying out loud! I can take care of myself, why if they knew half the shit I've already been through they wouldn't think twice about leaving me alone!" Roxas found himself ranting. But he caught himself before he could say anything else because Axel was giving him a very odd look. "Are you shagging my cousin LeAnn?" he finally asked, trying to one-up the red head. It seemed to work as the older man began choking and coughed for about a minute trying to catch his breath.

"NO! Good lord, why does everyone think that there's something between us?" he demanded to no one in particular. "Listen kid, I'll tell you right here, right now, I'm gay, I don't like women that way, especially your cousin, she's just my friend,"

"LeAnn said that you were busy with your bitch tonight, is that your boyfriend? I was under the impression that it was a girl named Clarice," Roxas continued, not loudly but loud enough to make this conversation extremely awkward. Axel stepped closer to Roxas and threw an arm over his shoulder to bring him closer.

"Yes, she was my girlfriend, but like LeAnn said, she's a bitch, so I dumped her, I'm in love with someone else." He told him.

"A guy?" Roxas guessed.

"A guy," Axel confirmed.

"Is he older than you?"

"Certainly not."

"Oh so you're a pervert then!"

"Yes, yes I am."

"Who is it?"

"I can't tell you."

"That's not fair!" Roxas protested.

"I'll tell you when you're older, now how about we get something to eat before I send you back to LeAnn's?" he asked jerking his thumb in the direction of a burger joint. Like most teenage boys (regardless of their pasts as heartless nobodies) he was drawn by the smell of food. He nodded wordlessly and docilely followed Axel to the establishment. He didn't catch the aura of self-satisfaction practically oozing off his eating companion, but that was all right for now.

For now Roxas was beginning to think that he was a pretty cool guy, even if he was gay…

-----

The music in the burger joint was fast and rhythmic; Axel found his toes tapping to the beat shortly after a pretty waitress seated them in a booth near the door. Roxas tried to flirt with her but she was far too busy flirting with Axel to notice. Axel was polite but disinterested to put further proof to his whole "I'm gay" thing he had told the younger boy earlier. They really shouldn't be here, they should be at his house doing the horizontal tango, but strangely enough Axel was more than happy to sit patiently and wait for his prey to come to him. They ordered after quickly perusing the menu and then sat there in silence as they waited for their food.

"What made you want to be an architect?" Roxas suddenly asked before his mouth found the straw in his drink. Axel sat there and pondered for a moment, why exactly was he an architect?

"I suppose it's because I like to destroy things," he answered truthfully. "I want to know what will make a building fall down and in order to do that you need to know how they're built. I offer demolition as part of my services naturally," he smirked. Roxas was staring at him intently.

"You're weird, LeAnn was going on about how you were such a great guy and all that, admit it, you've got everyone in this town fooled!" Roxas snapped obnoxiously. Maybe because he recognized the false pride and swagger that had been so evident in the Organization or maybe because the older man's smirk just dripped with confidence and his movements screamed good breeding that he wanted to rip him down off his pillar. But to his surprise Axel just chuckled and leveled him a very heated smirk.

"That's right, kiddo and never forget it, I'm a very bad man." He couldn't continue obviously because at that point the waitress reappeared with their food and the two ate silently after that. Upon completing the meal Axel paid the bill and held the door open for Roxas as they exited and walked back towards LeAnn's house. "When do you start school?" Axel asked curiously.

"Next week I think, I guess LeAnn already enrolled me in the high school, I'm not going to have any friends," he sighed, for once revealing his vulnerability, but as if he had sensed that his personal defenses had dropped Roxas immediately scowled and walked a bit faster. "Not that it matters, I don't need anyone!" he added. Axel shook his head, same old Roxas, it was just like back in the organization. "By the way, that scratch on your cheek…did you get it from Clarice?" Roxas suddenly asked. Axel's hand absently went to his cheek where he felt a small scab there. He smiled absently.

"Yup, right after I told her she was a bitch!" he said proudly. "It's not important anymore though," he ended the conversation as they walked up LeAnn's front stoop. "You got keys?" he asked before Roxas dug around in his pocket. "Alright, are you sure you'll be alright on your own?" Axel asked, trying desperately to hide the hopefulness in his voice.

"I'm good, thanks for the burger!" Roxas said as he opened the door and proceeded to shut it in his face.

Mission: Failed.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

Axel groaned as the sunlight kissed his face later the next morning. He'd had possibly the worst night ever, every dream plagued by Roxas and then at the end of every one a slamming door jolted him rudely awake. He swore under his breath, every word he could think of and some new ones before he got up to take a shower. The scratch from Clarice had healed but there was still a small red mark from where it had been. He stuck his tongue out at his reflection and proceeded into the shower where he relieved himself of the mornings temptations, the scalding water relaxing his tense muscles and washing away the only evidence of his desire, no panting youth, no guttural groans of pleasure, just a grunt and gasp as he spilled himself. He leaned his soaking head against the shower wall and thought about how much pain would be involved if he just ran it through the tile.

He knew he was being overdramatic about the whole thing, but he thought he had made progress last night as far as Roxas was concerned. And then that infernal door had closed in his face. He stood in the hot water a bit longer trying to come up with a plan but nothing immediately came to mind, he might as well take a break and try to live a normal life for a while. It was weird being alone though, after being around at least twelve different people all the time and practically begging for some solitude, but now that he had it, he wasn't sure if it's what he really wanted. Today he didn't even bother with normal attire. He dug around in his dresser for some lounge pants and pulled them on over his boxers. His torso he left unclothed, preferring the way his arms felt unconfined by fabric. Axel would have surely been a nudist if the thought of other (less magnificent) people being nude didn't scare the hell out of him (after all he'd been known to stare and staring got you punched in the face).

He yawned again as he wandered down to the second story where his studio and two small guest rooms were located. He sat down at his desk and squinted as he began having difficulty reading the pages in front of him. He looked around for a moment before finally found a pair of reading glasses. Without pausing to think about the deterioration of his perfect eyesight he slipped them on and started leafing through all the papers. There was a list of things to do hastily scrawled on a pad of paper next to his laptop and he perused it briefly, wondering what he should get done first.

The first thing on the list told him that he needed to finish the plans for a new addition to the school that they wanted to build next summer. He opened a few drawers and leafed between some papers before he was able to find the plans in question. They looked done to him, but the more he studied them the more incomplete they looked. So for another two hours Axel sketched drafts for the new building, added elegant and flawless details that would enhance the buildings durability and bring into a modern era while respecting the original design of the school and matching it accordingly. After a quick breakfast Axel dressed himself in jeans and a blue oxford this time, rolling up the sleeves before he stepped outside. He went back to his office where he gathered the portfolio and tucked his reading glasses into his front pocket. He checked his cell for new messages and erased the one's from Clarice without even listening to them, but the absence of messages from LeAnn made him worry slightly. He shrugged that feeling off quickly, LeAnn was a big girl she could no doubt take care of herself.

Today was just like yesterday, sunny and warm. A breeze was blowing up some cool air down the street he was walking. He stopped at the end of the street for a moment, trying to remember where the school was located, however he soon gave up and simply asked for directions. After obtaining them he found himself wandering in a very unfamiliar part of town but one that was filled with the charming locals or Twilight Town. They were lined up on the side of the street shouting out for their wares that were mostly fruits or vegetables, but Axel found that he enjoyed this particular side of town, it was urban and rural, chic and vintage, familiar and exotic all at the same time. He bought an apple from a nearby vendor and ate it happily as he continued towards the school. This was what it meant to be human, to enjoy the sights, smells and sounds of the world around you and to be happy about it all. He didn't understand why normal humans were so unhappy with their lives, but he supposed that if they lived without a heart all of this would be new and exciting too. Axel hoped fervently that he'd never be disillusioned.

"Axel? Axel Raskoph? Speak of the devil we were just talking about you!" An older man exclaimed as he hurried forward to shake his hand. He was followed by another older man and a younger woman. "You remember Professor White and Mrs. Klyde don't you?" the man asked jovially.

"Charmed again," Axel responded giving them each a drop dead smile and firm handshake. "Principal Ooghun (huzzah for the automatic memory!), I have the plans here for your addition, sorry if they're late," he apologized.

"Oh no my boy, they're right on time, This is excellent, now we can start budgeting for the addition, we already have some money set aside and now we can set a realistic goal!" the little old man was so happy that Axel couldn't help but smile. "Would you like to stay and have lunch with us?" The principal asked politely.

"Oh no I'm sorry, I just ate and I have to be somewhere in a few minutes, but thank you for the invitation, is it open?" he replied.

"Of course my boy, any time!" Ooghun laughed as he slapped Axel on the shoulder again. After waving goodbye to the school staff he turned around and headed back home. He didn't recall having any more meetings today, so why did he say so? He didn't get to think much about it for at that moment his cell phone rang, and it rang with such an obnoxious and loud ringtone he immediately knew who it was.

"LeAnn, seriously, it's only been like one day what do you want?" he snapped into the receiver.

"Ha ha ha Axel, I need a favor, I'm gonna be here a little bit longer than I thought, maybe for a month, mom fell last night and hurt her wrist and you know she's not as young as she used to be and the doctors say that in a month everything should be alright, so can Roxas come and stay with you? You've got that giant house all by yourself it'll do you some good to have a housemate and I don't want him alone in my house!" she added.

"Thinking he's gonna throw a party do ya?" Axel teased as his feet automatically began taking him to LeAnn's house.

"Exactly, besides I think he's really depressed about something but he won't tell me what, I think he misses his parents!" she added quickly.

"LeAnn he's like what 17? He's not going to tell his 25 year old cousin that he misses his mommy and daddy," Axel reminded her. "I sure as hell wouldn't," he added for good measure.

"Oh sure, so that one time back in college was just a fluke right? When you cried all over my shoulder the second month of school cause you were homesick?" she shot back.

"Hey I was drunk and therefore do not recollect that moment!" Axel shouted back, over her sudden giggling.

"Yeah sure whatever, just do it for me please Axel? I'll pay his rent or something." She pleaded.

"Don't worry about it, I can support the brat for a month, just be safe and hurry home alright? I don't know what it is I'm supposed to be doing without you here screaming at me," he almost sounded affectionate there, he really must miss her.

"I emailed your schedule to you last night, check your inbox dumbass," she snapped before she hung up on him and all those warm fuzzy feeling Axel was feeling just fell out the window. Shaking his head he pocketed the phone and whistled the rest of the way to her house.

-----

Roxas wasn't expecting any visitors today, least of all Axel Raskoph. "What do you want?" he demanded sourly, trying to sound as unfriendly as possible.

"LeAnn asked me to put you up for a month while she's away, she did call you right?" Axel asked as he simply pushed the door open and walked right on in, despite Roxas' protests.

"You can't just walk in here, HEY!" Roxas shouted at him as Axel began climbing the stairs to the second story. "Get out!"

"No, I have as much permission to be here as you, LeAnn barges into my house I barge into her, regardless of juvenile housemate protests," Axel smirked as he walked into the guest room where Roxas was staying. "You haven't unpacked?" he asked curiously looking at the luggage that stood about the room.

"No! I didn't think I'd be here that long, but apparently my parents are having so much fun on their vacation that they don't care about me!" Roxas shouted. Axel rolled his eyes, and Roxas suddenly had the distinct feeling that he said something wrong.

"Listen brat, I'm doing this as a favor to your cousin, get your things and let's go," he said it with such authority and such underlying disgust that Roxas couldn't move fast enough to pack what little he had unpacked. When he was finished he found Axel waiting outside for him, scowling. "Ready?" he demanded.

"Yeah," Roxas muttered quietly as he securely locked LeAnn's front door. The two headed down the street in silence, Roxas holding one suitcase and Axel holding another. Roxas was internally fuming at Axel, what an asshole, just barging into the house like that and ordering him to get packed, just because he was older than him he thought he could order him around. He was almost thirty right? He was three years older than LeAnn, who was 25 that meant that he was eleven years older than his own 17 which made him 28. Roxas wanted nothing more than to stomp on Axel's feet and run away.

-----

Axel at this point wasn't too thrilled himself. Roxas' childish display in the house had certainly affected the way he viewed this new Roxas. Maybe he was just a bratty kid and he had it all wrong that they could be together again. Throwing a temper tantrum about how his parents didn't care for him, ignoring his cousin and not telling her what was wrong with his sorry little ass. Axel almost thought about setting a nearby tree on fire just to vent his anger but thought against it. After all they were almost home and he could shut himself in his office and ignore Roxas.

Though the thought of ignoring Roxas made his chest ache curiously and made tears spring into his eyes. He quickly dashed them away and looked away from the teen until he could control himself.

When they arrived at his house he quickly opened the door and took the bag he was carrying to the second floor to one of the guest rooms. "Here you go, if you're hungry there's food in the kitchen, I have some other work to do so I'll be in my office, just knock if you need anything." And with that Axel left Roxas standing there and locked himself in his office where he silently cried for reasons he could not even begin to name.

-----

Roxas was ashamed of himself. Really he was, he had behaved like a snot nosed brat to the guy that was giving him free room and board as a favor to LeAnn. Ugh, if LeAnn found out how he was acting she'd skin him alive. He threw himself face down on his bed and took a deep breath. From the very first day he met LeAnn off the bus she'd been fussy and nurturing towards him. And he knew that his parents were the same way but he didn't want to see it that way, he was still so confused about what was going on here that he was afraid to trust anyone. What if it was another trick by the organization to get him back? He shuddered for a moment as he remembered his first days there, before he met his friends or at least what he could consider as friends.

With a deep and heart-wrenching sigh he turned over on his back and closed his eyes, maybe some sleep would clear his muddled mind. After all, there was that faceless man in his dreams to consider along with memories he hadn't yet come to terms with.

-----

Axel was asleep at his desk when Roxas knocked a few hours later. The teen had done some serious thinking after his short nap and decided that he owed Axel an apology, so he did the only thing he remembered how to do, he baked chocolate chip cookies. He remembered one time he and Demyx had baked them and the kitchen had nearly blown up and Xaldin (who usually did the baking) threatened to skin them alive if they ever set foot in the kitchen again. Demyx had given his cookies to Xigbar and the two weren't seen for the rest of the day but Roxas couldn't remember who he gave his too, but he recalled it being someone he cared a lot about.

When Axel didn't respond Roxas slowly and quietly opened the door to see him sleeping at his desk, graphing paper and instruments spread out before him and several open books next to him. He thought about just leaving him be when Axel suddenly jumped and coughed a few times, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Oh my god is the house burning?" he demanded when he jumped to his feet and saw Roxas standing there with a plate of slightly charred cookies. He blushed a little and so did Roxas.

"Um, here, I made these to say that I was sorry…" Roxas's voice dropped considerably in volume. "Thank you for letting me stay here while LeAnn's away," he added, his eyes staring avidly at the carpet. He thought Axel would laugh at him again, or smirk, or say something snide, but he didn't, instead his hands gently brushed his as he took the plate and tapped him on the side of the head so that Roxas would turn and look at him.

"Thank you, I love chocolate chip cookies," his smile was kind and warm and at that moment Roxas thought that he looked so hot his face turned bright red just thinking about it.

"Glad you like them bye!" he stammered as he turned and quickly fled the room followed by Axel's deep laughter. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad living with the kid after all.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

After the giving of the cookies, the relationship shared by Axel and Roxas improved greatly. Roxas found that he was more inclined to relax around the redhead than previously, maybe it's because Axel turned out to not be such an asshole when he was having fun and Axel, apparently, loved having fun. He proved that the next morning as he had sprayed Roxas with a water bottle repeatedly to wake him up. "Wake up kiddo we're going out!" he said when Roxas finally sat up and threw a pillow at him.

"What the hell??" Roxas interjected.

"You need stuff for school right? We have to go shopping!" Axel was excited, he figured he was well off but he didn't realize how well off till he was checking his inboxes this morning. Of course he had his schedual from LeAnn but he also had a notice from his bank which informed him exactly how ridiculously wealthy he was. Apparently it paid big to be an internationally famous architect, who lived alone…in the middle of nowhere…

But now he had a reason to spend some of his money, (just because they weren't physically lovers didn't mean he couldn't spoil the hell out of him right? Right!). Axel walked away laughing as Roxas struggled to get out of bed in order to strangle him. When he realized it was futile he simply got up and dressed himself in jeans and his favorite shirt. It was lame actually but Roxas liked it. It was green with a pixilated frog that said "Frogger is my prince", he wasn't sure what Frogger was but he liked it because it was soft and comfortable. When he finally wandered downstairs Axel had already made breakfast (non-burnt the bastard), and his clothes were still impeccably clean (Roxas had had to prewash his clothes) and to make it worse, it tasted excellent.

Over breakfast Axel drilled Roxas on what he needed for school but of course the teen had no idea so it took Axel a few moments to get a hold of Principal Ooghun and have him fax over the list. "You know the principal of the school I'm going to?" Roxas asked after swallowing a mouthful of omelet.

"I made the plans for the new addition that they'll be adding next summer, so it might be a little cramped this year, but next year will be better," Axel smiled as he shook the paper in the other's face.

"Are there a lot of students there?" Roxas found himself asking.

"I doubt it, it couldn't have grown that much since I graduated," Axel shrugged as he waited patiently for Roxas to finish his meal.

Roxas sensed what he was waiting for and wolfed down the rest of his food, quickly taking his dishes to the sink. "I'm ready!" he announced not reaqlizing that there was a bit of egg still left on his cheek. Axel had to violently throttle the urge to lick it off and instead threw him a napkin and motioned around his face. Blushing a dull shade of pink Roxas quickly wiped his face and threw the napking away.

"Alright kiddo let's go!" he announced as he grabbed his wallet from the front room and stuck it into his back pocket. As he reached for his cell phone it rang with such obnoxiousness that he tossed it to Roxas with a roll of his eyes. "Tell LeAnn that you're fine, I'll wait outside," he said as he walked out into the street and took a deep breath of the fresh morning air. He looked down at the list in his hand and frowned, so many things for school! He didn't remember school very well most of his memories were still of the Organization. But for some reason Axel was more inclined to forget those memories and make new ones. This wasn't something he expected but now that he felt that way he didn't see anything wrong with it. The organization was a part of his life but he had a new life now, one that he could mold and shape, one that he could live for something or someone, and that someone was currently exiting the house glaring at the now inactive cell phone.

"She's such a worry wart!" Roxas groaned when Axel questioned him about the phone call. "She was going on and on and on about how I have to watch myself around you because you're a pervert and to lock my door at night and certainly never fall asleep in front of you, I don't know what her deal is, I think she's mental!" Roxas complained as they walked down the street to one of the more organized shopping centers.

"Well I am a pervert, we did establish that," Axel pointed out.

"Yeah but only because you're in love with a younger man…by the way have you told him how you feel? I mean are you guys dating or is it unrequited love?" Roxas chattered on.

"Unrequited, but I'll tell him eventually I suppose, I just met him really, but I've known about him for a long time!" Axel explained.

"Oh, is he famous like you?"

"Oh naw, he's just some guy I've known about for awhile, it's almost like watching him from afar." He sighed.

"Does he work somewhere around here? We could go and see him if you want!" Roxas offered. Axel then turned to him with such a look of incredulity that Roxas found himself fidgeting. "I mean, if you love him, you would want to see him right? I don't care that you're gay, I mean love is love and if I loved someone I'd want to see him or her…" Roxas looked away at that point and Axel didn't know whether to scream, laugh or cry. Finally he forced himself to smile, it looked a little strained but to make Roxas feel better he reached over and ruffled his blonde hair.

"Don't worry about it kiddo, I'll survive I'm sure. Besides I'm going to tell him soon, just how soon is the question," Axel laughed when they finally entered a small paper shop. "Alright now according to this list you need a lot of stuff, so you go and find it and I'll be up here flirting with that guy," Axel pointed to a taller man with vivid pink hair glaring at some other customers.

"Freak," Roxas muttered as he slunk off to get his things. Axel himseld sidled over to the man and poked him in the back.

"What?" Marluxia growled as he turned to face Axel. Of course at that point his face fell. "What are you doing here?" he practically screeched.

"Shut up Marly, that's what I was gonna ask you," Axel demanded.

"I'm not looking for you, I'm looking for Xigbar and Demyx have you seen them? I've looked everywhere."

"Why would you be looking for them?" Axel demanded. Marly gave him a very evil smirk.

"Special orders…say Axel, how would you like to be in the Organization again? You could even bring Roxas with you, if you found him…" Marly smirked, it then dawned on Axel that Marluxia hadn't seen Roxas come in with him and so shrugged nonchalantly.

"Why would I want to go back to the Organization? I'm perfectly happy with my heart," Axel shot back. At the mention of the word "heart" Marluxia's face became etched with jealousy and confusion.

"What do you mean you have a heart? I don't have a heart!" Marluxia whispered furiously.

"Maybe you don't deserve one," Axel shot back. Marluxia reached out and punched Axel so hard he went flying into a display table and broke it as he crashed down into it.

"I'm outta here, and while I feel I should kill you, you aren't worth my time. I know where Zexion and Lexaeus are, they were always more dedicated to the Organization than your dumb ass," he snarled before he vanished into a portal of darkness.

It took Axel a few moments to realize that Roxas was calling his name and that he was bleeding profusely from his nose. Several other clerks rushed to his aid and gingerly picked him up and set him on a bench as they hurried about cleaning up the mess.

"Tilt your head back!" Roxas ordered sternly as he stuffed more tissues into the other's nose.

"Roxas I can't breathe!" Axel hollered at him but it was ruined by the fact that his nose was stuffed and his voice sounded like it was muffled by a thick wad of cotton. Roxas erupted into peals of laughter and fell back on his butt. Axel wasn't amused but the younger boys laughter appeared to be contagious as Axel started laughing too and soon his nosebleed stopped.

"What happened?" Roxas asked later as they had gathered all his school supplies (courtesy of the store) and headed outside.

"I ran into an old friend who remembered he didn't like me," Axel sighed and he gingerly touched his sore nose, he was lucky Marly hadn't broken it, and what was that about special orders and Zexion and Lexaeus? Was he not the only one that had been given a heart? But Marly said he didn't have a heart and he obviously didn't know that Roxas had a heart already too, and what the hell did he want with Xigbar and Demyx? Even Axel had to admit (and he loved Demyx to death) that he wasn't the first person he'd go find to reform the Organization. Axel sensed that there was something bigger going on here than he realized.

"AXEL!" Roxas elbowed him hard in the stomach causing him to cough, sputter and choke back some very unfriendly words. "I've been calling your name for like ever, are you hungry?" Roxas demanded as he pointed to a hot dog stand. Axel nodded and the two ate Hot Dogs and sea salt ice cream for lunch. True to form, after the first one Roxas went back for two more and refused to share with Axel. "Mine." was all he said. With that the two continued shopping, occasionally stopping so Roxas could get more sea salt pops. Axel told him he would get a stomach ache but the teen ignored him and sure enough by the time they got home that night Roxas was looking a little green around the gills and promptly lost his lunch when Axel offered to make big greasy hamburgers with fries.

What Axel ended up making was miso soup and cucumber sandwiches. They didn't speak for the rest of the night as Axel would chuckle periodically thinking about how he'd been right. The two went to bed after organizing Roxas' school things and Axel lectured him on maintaining good relationships with his school mates because you never know if you'd be working for one later. He cited LeAnn as an example and would have kept going if Roxas hadn't pointed out that the only reason LeAnn was his assistant is because she was the only one that could keep up with him. Axel stuck his tongue out and smacked Roxas with a fluffy pillow.

That night as Axel lay in bed he thought again about the day. It had been alright despite Marluxia's interference. Maybe this was how human's with hearts did it, little steps, gaining trust, flirting (no matter how subtly) and being patient. Axel would have never described himself as patient, but somehow…that was just fine with him.

-----

Meanwhile while Axel was sleeping the sleep of dreamers and romantics, Roxas was agonizing over today's earlier events. He'd recognized Marluxia the moment they walked into the store (seriously who else would have hair that color?). The fact that Axel wanted to flirt with him was slightly disturbing but Roxas had decided to spy on them and it certainly didn't look like they were flirting, in fact it looked like they were arguing. And he'd cearly heard Axel say something about the Organization and hearts. What did that even mean? Was Axel apart of the Organization too? But that wouldn't any sense at all, Axel was way nicer than he really should be..was he the faceless man in his dreams. Tossing and turning it took Roxas awhile to fall asleep and when he finally did he found himself watching Demyx battle Sora somewhere far away, in a world he didn't recognize. When the battle ended Roxas suddenly found himself on a beach staring up at a heart shaped moon. He suddenly knew what this was all about, why Demyx was there and what he was trying to do.

_"Demyx…are you alright?"_

_"No! I hurt everywhere, why is this happening to me?"_

_"Maybe you're the only one who can do it, ya know?"_

_"That doesn't make any sense Roxas."_

_"Yeah…you're right. I mean after all, the old Demyx would have just run away from everything."_

_"Don't get preachy on me, running away sounds pretty damn good right now."_

_"You really are different you know Dem? I kinda like it…"_

_"Didn't you like me before?"_

_"Yeah, but you…I don't know, when you didn't have a heart you pretty much let everyone walk all over you, now all of a sudden you're fighting at the drop of a hat."_

_"Does that make me a bad person? I just want Xigbar to remember me. I get so angry now…I loose my temper for the oddest things and it doesn't seem that I'm the same person at all. Maybe I went so long without a heart that I can't control it now that I have one."_

_"Sora could help."_

_"This is all Sora's fault, if he hadn't killed me…"_

_"You went to fight willingly to prove to Xigbar you were strong."_

_"Pssh…some strength right?"_

_"Well maybe you didn't have enough because you didn't have a heart to fuel the emotions you had."_

_"That's a stupid reason Roxas and you know it…you always had plenty of strength even though you didn't have a heart."_

_"Look at who my heart belonged to."_

_"Maybe I was a Nobody even when I was a Somebody and when I was a Nobody I wanted to be more to Somebody, but now I find myself as a Nobody again. It's a vicious cycle my friend, a vicious cycle."_

_"Don't worry Demyx, I still love you."_

_"Gee thanks Rox…maybe I'll find you too you know? Promise you won't forget me either."_

_"Never Demy, never."_

With a start Roxas woke up and stared at the dim ceiling as dawns rays innocently crept in under the window shade. He didn't remember anything but the conversation with Demyx, but a foolish smile crossed his face. Demyx was alive and so was Xigbar (well Xigbar he could care less about) but still! With a shout of joy that he muffled into his pillow he released all the tension he'd been carrying. It wasn't a trick or a joke, he really had a heart and he was really here living his life. Suddenly, things looked a lot better.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

Over the next few days leading up to Roxas' first day of school Axel noticed that he was in an increasingly happy mood. Part of him was relieved and the other part was puzzled and he couldn't get it out of the youth what had him so happy. He even went so far as to leap onto Axel a few days ago and shook him awake so they could go skateboarding around the town (Axel ended up with a bruised tailbone and a bump on his head).

Now however they both stood outside the high school, Axel dressed in his usual jeans and oxford shirt (it was red this time) and his long red hair was in a loose ponytail and slung over his shoulder. "Ready?" he asked as he looked down at the nervous Roxas.

"What if no one likes me?" he blurted out before he could stop himself.

"Well don't worry about them, You'll have me when you get home!" Axel tried to console him. Roxas gave him an arched look before he smiled.

"Well then I'll see you tonight!" Roxas said as he took his first steps into the Twilight Town school system. Axel watched him till he vanished inside the building and turned to sigh. Now he'd be alone all day, what on earth was he going to do? He'd already taken care of most of the stuff that was on the schedule that LeAnn had sent him, and he was ahead of schedule with a few more plans. Maybe he should just go home and wait patiently for Roxas to come home…wearing an apron…and nothing else. Smirking evilly Axel headed home.

-----

Roxas was awash in a sea of people. Some were taller than him and other's were much shorter. He felt out of place and strange among so many laughing, happy people. But that nervousness soon dissipated as he remembered that he was one them now, and his summer vacation hadn't ended with him waking up in a shell as someone else, no, his life was continuing, he was living it.

He wandered down the hallway in search of three familiar faces, ones he had only known as an illusion and he could only hope that they could be friends again. He found them in the first classroom he entered, sitting as a group with one empty chair to complete the square. Roxas boldly headed for it and sat down without asking. Feeling their stares on his back he turned and smiled at them. "Hey, I'm Roxas!" he offered. The silence that greeted him was tense and strained, then finally the girl with the brown hair smiled at him.

"Hi Roxas, I'm Olette, this is Pence and Hayner," she introduced the others. There were handshakes all around as they introduced themselves again and then fell into talking about skateboarding and games and what they liked and disliked about school. By lunch time the four were laughing and chatting like they'd known each other all their lives and Olette was flirting big time with him. Roxas couldn't be happier, she was cute and nice but he couldn't help shaking the feeling that he shouldn't be interested in her. In gym class he surprised even himself when he beat the best time for running track and then climbed a rock wall without breaking a sweat, all his skills from the Organization must have been deeply imbedded in him for him to realize what was going on, this of course made Olette flirt with him more and before he knew what he was doing he was agreeing to see them all at the burger joint this weekend.

When school let out the last thing that Roxas expected was Axel waiting for him, but there he was, towering over some of the other parents, looking bored as he waited to be found.

"Wow!! You live with Axel Raskoph!" Olette gasped when she looked at the intimidating redhead. "He's so hot!" All of Roxas's interest in her suddenly died and was replaced by a deep jealousy. "Wow!! Just wow Roxas that is so cool! He's like the best architect ever; he gets orders from all over the world for his designs! He's the reason I want to be an architect too!" she gushed, "Do you think he'll give me his autograph?" she continued.

"Uh…you can ask…' Roxas shrugged as she squealed and ran off. Pence and Hayner walked up beside him.

"Don't worry about it man, she's always like this, we've been trying for years to get her to date one of us," Hayner teased him. Roxas gave them a sickly sort of smile and shrugged.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow!" Roxas sighed as he headed towards Olette and Axel. By the time he got there Olette had gotten the autograph she wanted and ran off giggling after waving goodbye to Roxas.

"New friend?" Axel teased as they started walking home.

"No…she likes you more than she likes me," Roxas sighed. Axel laughed out loud and looped an arm around his slim shoulders.

"Don't worry about it, girls are fickle like that, she only likes me because I'm a dashing, handsome, older and rich man, when you're my age all the little girls will love you too!" Axel teased mercilessly.

"Yeah but who loves me now?" Roxas complained.

"Handsome, rich architects with red hair," Axel spat out before his brain could actually stop his mouth. Roxas stopped dead in his tracks and stared at him with an open mouth. "Well you know, in a friendly sort of way, LeAnn would kill me if I touched you inappropriately," he added. (Nice save! His brain cheered.)

"Oh…right," Roxas had to fight to keep the disappointment from his voice. He'd really grown to like Axel, even after the confusing conversation he'd had with Marluxia a week ago. And Roxas had felt jealous when Olette was drooling all over him, but was it because she was no longer paying attention to him or was it because she was paying attention to Axel? He continued to walk beside the older man and wondered about these new feelings, he'd never felt this way in the organization, but he hadn't had a heart back then so it made sense he supposed. Maybe he should tell Axel about the way he felt, but he was scared of being rejected, after all Axel had said that he was already in love with someone else. Then again that someone obviously didn't know and he had seen the red head flirting with some other guys so that meant he wasn't necessarily true to the one he was in love with, or maybe it didn't count cause they weren't actually dating…was that the difference between love and lust? Roxas's head swam with the possibilities and ignored Axel for the rest of the way home.

Axel was confused by Roxas's reactions, after awhile he just stopped talking altogether since it looked like Roxas was trying to wrestle with his own demons. As they passed a guitarist on the street Axel stopped and threw him some money, the kid happily shouted his thanks and went on playing. "He reminds me of a guy I know, kind of a spaz, he played this giant blue sitar thing," he motioned the length with his hand. Roxas, who was taking a swig out of the water bottle he'd just dug out of his backpack choked on the water and had to spit it into a nearby tree urn. "Hey dude you alright?" he asked patting the other on his back.

"Yeah!" Roxas rasped. "I'm fine!" his mind however was reeling, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god…he knew Demyx, he had to, and that would explain the whole thing with Marluxia! But who the hell was he? He didn't remember ever seeing him in the organization and he was sure he'd remember someone like Axel. His back was slapped a few more times before they got home because he kept choking on his water and when they finally got into the house he ran upstairs and slammed his bedroom door before a giant muffled shout could be hear throughout the house.

Now Axel wasn't an idiot, he'd seen the look on Roxas's face and he knew that Roxas knew he was talking about Demyx, however Roxas was treating him as if they were perfect strangers, so that could only mean one of two things, either Roxas was ignoring their relationship for some strange unknown reason, or for another strange and unknown reason he had completely forgotten about him. Axel preferred the second option because he felt that he knew Roxas well enough that the blonde wouldn't be able to just ignore him…after all, he had made him cookies. Besides…if Roxas didn't remember him then it helped to justify Axel's secret weapon…seduction. _"Oh yes little Roxas,"_ his diabolical mind thought, _"there's no way you'll be able to resist me when I start to lay it on thick…"_

-----

That night after dinner Roxas was drinking the second of two beers given to him by Axel. Axel himself was on his third and just beginning to enjoy his buzz; it took him a minute therefore to realize that Roxas was drunk. Of course this never occurred to him because Roxas had been able to drink him under the table when they were still in the Organization. Imagine his surprise (and delight) when Roxas fearlessly leaned over and bathed his cheek in a rather wet kiss. When Axel turned to look at him Roxas was staring at him intently. Now it should be noted that Axel was not drunk but his good sense certainly flew out the window because the moment their eyes met, as Roxas' look turned so sexy Axel pounced on him before he knew it.

They were kissing frantically and trying to disrobe, Roxas ripped open Axel's shirt and Axel accordingly tugged off the others as well. Then, just as Roxas began attacking his ears Axel regained his composure. He couldn't take Roxas right now, not like this and not all the way. He was drunk and he'd certainly hate him in the morning. But Axel knew that Roxas would probably never speak to him again if he didn't see to his immediate need that was insistently poking him in the stomach. "Roxas…Roxas relax!" Axel firmly told the bleary eyed youth. Axel kissed him gently before he courteously removed the rest of the blondes clothes and carried him upstairs. Axel groaned the whole time since Roxas was very energetically leaving love bites all over his neck and by the time they reached his bedroom he had to seriously consider not jumping him.

Axel sat on Roxas' bed with his back towards the wall and slowly turned Roxas around so the youth was facing outward as well. "Just relax Roxas, I'll make you feel good," Axel whispered as his warm hands gently roved over the body he knew so well. Even with his eyes closed he could see Roxas's muscular abs, and his flat stomach, chiseled from relentless exercises in the gym. His arms weren't as defined anymore but as Axel gently ran his hands down them he could still feel the muscles rippling there, ready to be used. Roxas's breath was hitching in his chest and throat and Axel reverently kissed his shoulders, moving his head so that he could capture the teens lips in a gentle and loving kiss.

His hands moved down farther and massaged the tight thighs of his lover before dipping between them and grasping the other's member. He continued to nibble and kiss on the youth's neck as his hand stroked gently but firmly over the quivering shaft. "Ax-Axel!!" Roxas keened a few times, panting audibly, hips bucking into the hot palm of the older man. The sweat that had formed on their bodies caused Roxas to slide against his chest every time he arched and Axel had to finally pin him down with his other hand as the occupied one worked faster. "Oohh..Oh! Faster! I'm gonna…I'm gonna cum!" Roxas gasped as suddenly Axel felt his hand coated with the other boy's juices. Roxas sniffled for a moment and leaned his head against the other's shoulders. He kissed him gently and laid him down, careful not to get any of the semen on the sheets. He went into the bathroom to wash his hands and returned with a wet cloth, which he used to gently clean the boy that slept so soundly. After that task was completed Axel ignored his own need and cleaned the downstairs, throwing away his ripped shirt and tossing Roxas' clothes into the hamper upstairs as he finally came to bed.

Sighing deeply he resisted the temptation to touch himself and crawled into bed. What had he done? Nothing…he could have done so much more, and all he'd done was touch him. He remembered everything, every moment they shared, every touch and laugh and to have him not remember that was too painful. To share that with him and have him not remember what it was like for them when it was just them and no one else. His heart thundered in his chest and he tried to put his hand over it to stop it, pressing down as hard as he could, but the heart did not stop beating, in fact it was almost as if it beat harder and faster just to piss him off. If a heart was supposed to be such a great thing, why did it hurt so much when it was breaking?


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

As one would imagine the next morning in the Raskoph household was rather silent. Roxas couldn't remember if last night was real or not and Axel wasn't saying or doing anything to indicate that he knew what had happened. Maybe it was all just a dream, a glorious, wonderful dream. But Roxas couldn't bring himself to smile; he was too confused with the circumstances going on around him. Axel knew about Demyx and had been arguing with Marluxia, he'd been a part of the Organization but he couldn't remember where or what he'd been involved in. He wondered briefly if he was mistaken about it being a trap but something about Axel screamed that he had nothing to worry about. As far as traps went it was far too elaborate for even Xemnas or Zexion to cook up without some serious complications already arising.

Needless to say he walked to school alone that day, hurriedly telling Axel that he was fine on his own, but relented when Axel insisted on picking him up after school. As he ran to the trolley to take a shortcut he couldn't help but think of pensive look Axel had been wearing all morning, maybe it wasn't a dream after all.

-----

Axel sighed as he filed the rest of his paperwork for the day. He'd been able to get a lot done by ignoring the events of last night, but now that his mind was unoccupied he couldn't help but wander into Roxas's room and stare at the bed. With a deep sigh he rubbed his face wearily and then massaged his sore shoulders. What was he going to do? He could only be patient for so long before he did something he'd probably regret later. He needed something to clear his mind, he needed someone else to spend time with.

After pulling his hair back he headed outside and took a deep breath to try and clear his mind. In one hand he clutched his keys and in the other he had new expansion plans for a small bakery near the downtown area. He thought about stopping by the school to see how Roxas was doing but decided against it, if he did that, he didn't know how he'd react. The decision he'd made depended on him not being attracted to Roxas. He couldn't bring himself to try and seduce him if he was happy not remembering him, last nights events only occurred as a result of the beer. Axel needed to move on for awhile.

"Axel Raskoph!" Richard Talbit's voice hailed him from his left and as Axel turned it was to see the older man approaching him with a genial smile. Axel hadn't noticed the first time they (officially) met but Richard was very handsome. He was taller than Axel by a few decent inches and his dark brown hair was streaked with small slivers of grey. His green eyes weren't as deep as Axel's but they appeared to be smoldering with some kind of energy. His body wasn't as thin or lanky as Axel's, in fact he seemed to be more built like Xigbar, strong and sturdy without being huge. "You're staring so intently at me, is something wrong?" Richard looked down at his grey tailored suit.

"Oh! No…sorry, well, I mean, I just didn't expect you to be here I suppose," Axel answered.

"Well I've given a lot of thought to what you said earlier and you're right, I don't know what I was thinking. So I have to ask you again, will you please let me use your alternate plans so I can build my high-rise on some land outside of town?" Richard asked.

"Well I drew up those plans for your use anyway…so sure I guess that would be alright," Axel shrugged, not sure why he suddenly felt intimidated by the man now standing next to him. Maybe it was because he wasn't used to be being shown power like this. Then again Axel had always scoffed at the higher ranking members of the Organization when they attempted to intimidate him. But Richard Talbit was defiantly putting off some powerful vibes.

"So I was thinking we could go get some lunch," Richard was saying when Axel came back to reality.

"Oh…what?" he asked.

"Lunch, I was asking if you wanted to get lunch!" Richard smiled. Axel couldn't help but stare at the older man, his heart refused to respond to his charisma but as far as lust was concerned his libido was all for it.

"Sounds good to me," he finally said with a smile. He knew it was wrong, but he needed this, needed to get his mind of Roxas because as far as he knew it wasn't happening. He couldn't hurt Roxas with his impatience, he could always tell Roxas that he'd fallen in love with someone else, it wouldn't be true…but maybe he could come to care for Richard just a little…thinking deeply on it he turned and followed the older man to lunch.

-----

Meanwhile Roxas was having fun at school.

He, Hayner and Pence were busy flicking peas at some of the seniors and a massive food fight had ensued, ending up with him in detention. He was covered in mashed potatoes and peas but he couldn't have been happier, it totally reminded him of the time he and Demyx had started a food fight in the kitchen one time and had been punished by having to go on separate patrols, with the members they hated most. Demyx had ended up with Marluxia and Roxas had had to go with Xaldin.

But in thinking about the organization he thought about Axel and how he was involved in it. He wracked his brain but couldn't remember, not even a hint or voice. Once or twice he thought he remembered a conversation but then he'd remember that it hadn't been Axel he was talking to, it was Demyx. Roxas put his head on the desk. "Where are you Demyx?" he thought desperately. "Answer me! Tell me what's going on!" but Demyx didn't answer; in fact Roxas had the distinct feeling that his method wasn't working. Sighing again he spent the rest of detention in a moody silence.

When the day ended he walked outside looking for Axel and while part of him was excited to see him there another part had been highly skeptical that he wouldn't come. But there he was, standing out in the crowd with his red hair and surveying the scene with severe disinterest. There was a man next to him however who seemed to be paying avid attention to the red head. Roxas approached them and looked up questioningly at the man that kinda reminded him of Xigbar.

"Hey kiddo, how was school?" Axel asked, cutting off what the other man was saying to him.

"I got detention for starting a food fight," Roxas told him. Axel closed his eyes and winced.

"Don't tell LeAnn alright? She'll kill me and say I'm a bad influence," he sighed.

"But Axel, you are a bad influence," the older man teased him after gently cuffing him on the shoulder. Roxas' feelings of jealousy instantly surfaced like a poison bile and he had to physically stop for a moment to stop from jumping the man and beating him into a pulp. Why he felt that way he didn't know, it scared him if he had to be honest to himself. After all, he had no reason to be jealous, even if what had happened last night had been real. What Roxas didn't realize was that these feelings he was experiencing were so ingrained within him, were so second nature that he couldn't have stopped them even if he wanted to.

"Who's your friend?" Roxas demanded sharply as he glared at the older man. The man of course did not miss the tone in his voice or the look that was given to him and Roxas could swear that the smirk he got in return was a challenge.

"Oh this is Richard Talbit, he's a client of mine," Axel shrugged dismissively; he wasn't one to get emotionally involved with people he used for sex. It had been that way before he met Roxas too. Roxas triumphantly noted Axel's tone and stuck his tongue out at Richard before Axel turned around and stuck his hand out to Richard.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Roxas, LeAnn is my cousin, I'm living with Axel while she's taking care of her parents in another town," roxas explained. Richard took his hand and shook it till Axel turned around (rather pleased that they were getting along) when Richard yanked Roxas forward.

"Listen little boy, don't get in my way. Raskoph is mine, he just doesn't know it yet and I don't need some snot nosed little brat ruining this for me," he hissed before letting him go and catching up with Axel. If Roxas had had the time to react he probably would have punched the older man but as it was he watched the two walking away, noting that Richard was several years older than Axel and he felt threatened by him…just a kid. The absurdity of it all caused Roxas to break into peals of laughter. The two older men stopped and looked at him.

"I'm fine keep going, I'll catch up!" he snickered and laughed again. With an irritated huff Richard turned around and kept walking, Axel tentatively following. Roxas kept laughing the whole way to the house and once he got there he went up to his room and laughed some more.

He was just a kid and yet Richard Talbit saw him as a threat, that meant that he had a chance right? "I need to see how much Axel knows about the Organization, once I know that I think it'll be alright," he sighed as he turned onto his stomach to fish the homework out of his bag. Roxas's spirits suddenly soared. He liked Axel, maybe even loved him, but he didn't want to tell him just yet, after all, how cliché and lame was it to fall in love at first sight? Or at least within the first few weeks of knowing one another?

It was a little lame…he had to admit.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

It didn't take Roxas long to realize that he was really and truly in love with Axel. He didn't know how he knew but he was. He tried to do little things that showed how he loved the older man but Axel was always too busy with work to pay attention and when he wasn't working he was going out with Richard; they hardly ever spent time together anymore. It had been two weeks since Richard Talbit had suddenly intruded on their life and Roxas knew that time was running out. LeAnn would be coming home soon and he'd have to go back and live with her. He found himself trying to ask Axel if he could keep staying here but Axel would usually wave him away because he was on the phone or tell him "Later," because he had a date with Richard.

Roxas felt betrayed and hurt, but curiously enough he was agonizing over the man that Axel said that he loved but it was unrequited. Did this mean that he wasn't in love with that younger man anymore? If you loved someone but they didn't love you back you didn't give up on them did you? That was the question he ultimately posed to himself. Though Axel was intimate with Richard but loved another man did that mean that Roxas himself should give up because the odds were stacked against him? He didn't know what to do anymore.

-----

Axel was having an interesting time with Richard. Though they were "dating" in the sense of the word Axel refused to let Richard to much more than kiss and occasionally grope him. The older man was far more aggressive than Axel would have liked, not that he didn't like it when aggressiveness found its way into the bedroom it just wasn't something he had been comfortable with. In fact he himself hadn't been aggressive with Roxas at all, most of the time he let the blonde set the pace and only occasionally he lost enough control to do horribly kinky things to him. It's not that Axel wasn't aggressive himself, he simply realized that there was a time and place for everything.

Richard was being extremely grabby tonight. "No, stop it!" Axel sighed when Richard had him pinned against his front door.

"Why baby? I thought you like it?" Richard whined softly.

"Roxas is inside I don't want him to see!" Axel replied. Richard growled low in his throat.

"It's always about that kid, I'm the one you're with!" he sighed.

"I don't want to set a bad example, do you know what LeAnn would do to me if Roxas turned out to be gay?" Axel demanded.

"Let the kid be gay, I don't care about him!" Richard added.

"Well I do! So no Richard, in fact why don't you take a hike? I don't want to deal with this tonight," Axel snapped as he pushed the older man away and quickly fled inside the house.

Roxas was sitting in one of the plush arm chairs doing his history homework when Axel stumbled inside the door.

"Busy night?" the blonde asked dryly as he continued to define terms. Axel scowled at him.

"Not that you would know but yes, quite productive," Axel snapped, irritated at how embarrassed he felt about this particular situation. With a toss of his hair he stomped upstairs to wash that man off of his skin. What had he been thinking, had he been so enamored and intrigued by this older man having such an interest in him that it clouded all his senses or was he just an idiot? Right now he was leaning more towards idiot than anything else. Well that was certainly the last time he trusted his libido, screw lust!

With a frustrated growl he thumped his head against the wall a few times in the shower, no doubt puzzling the boy downstairs. However had he known that Roxas was busy yelling at Richard to get away from the house this story might have ended differently. As it was the blonde was being verbally threatened by the now irate Richard who was very convinced that Axel's lack of sexual interest was due to him.

Roxas of course responded negatively and cited that Axel was in fact, in love with someone else and that if Richard would be kind enough to "Fuck off and die!" it would be greatly appreciated by all.

"Just you wait you little pisser, I'm going to get you back for this, see if I don't!" and with that absurd statement that left Roxas laughing his fool head off again Richard bolted. Roxas however could not recover from his mirth and was still laughing by the time Axel came downstairs towel drying his hair.

"What's so funny?" he demanded.

"Oh…Oh!!" Roxas tried to speak but couldn't stop laughing. When he had finally composed himself he looked at Axel and wiped the tears from his eyes. "Richard, he's such a dweeb!" He burst out laughing again. "He said that he was gonna get me back for this and then he said 'See if I don't!' who the hell still talks like that?" Roxas fell down on his back laughing again. He didn't realize what was going on until Axel's lips came sneaking up his neck. "Huh?" his breath died abruptly in his throat and he started shaking. "Axel, what are you doing?" he gasped, trying to push him down and away.

"I love you," Axel said looking up at him with those hypnotic green eyes. Roxas blushed furiously.

"No you don't, you love that other guy…" Roxas immediately defended.

"You are that other guy, I wanted to tell you, I fell in love with you from the moment LeAnn introduced us and I want you so badly right now you have no idea," he whispered.

"You…fell in love with me at first sight?" Roxas whispered. How was it that a man almost twice his age was so willing and able to admit that he loved him from the moment he met him but Roxas couldn't even admit that he was the same? Maybe it was something you learned when you were older. "Was what happened the other night real?" he suddenly asked remembering what had happened.

"Yes." More kisses peppered his throat as Roxas suddenly found that Axel was removing his shirt and tossed it away.

"Why didn't you…um…" Roxas couldn't go on as the insistent mouth of the other was latched onto his ear and doing extremely suggestive and lewd things to it.

"I didn't want you to hate me afterwards, I love you so much…I couldn't bear it, it literally took every ounce of patience I had Roxas, you don't understand what you do to me!" he whispered into his ear before his strong white teeth captured it. "So I only let you feel pleasure and denied myself, I don't want to do that again Roxas…" he whispered not letting the younger boy answer as he immediately moved his mouth to cover the others.

Roxas' head was spinning, it was pure and unbridled joy, Axel loved him, had loved him. It was true, love at first sight really did exist and they were sharing it, and loving each other. He wanted to ask Axel about the Organization and what he knew but all he could think about were the kisses, so many kisses were being given to him, his head fairly detached from his body he felt so light headed.

Then, just when Axel was getting ready to get to the good part the door burst open and an embarrassed female screech echoed through the house.

"Aw shit…" Axel sighed as Roxas' blush turned from one of passion to one of extreme embarrassment as he quickly grabbed his shirt and ran upstairs. "LeAnn!" he bellowed at the slight brunette that was fuming in the doorway. As Axel turned to see her he suddenly realized that no matter how scary all his other opponents had been, or how intimidating Xigbar, Xemnas, Xaldin and the other's were, he'd seen nothing as compared to a very pissed off LeAnn.

Quite appropriately Axel was scared quite witless.


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

"AXEL!" LeAnn's screech was probably heard down the street as she slammed the door and glared at him. "I leave my baby cousin with you, thinking that he'll be safe and here you are…spoiling him!!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Okay how do you mean spoiling?" Axel demanded just before he ducked a vicious blow from her purse. She tossed it away and jumped on him, sending them crashing to the floor as one bony fist connected with his left eye. She gathered up his shirt and slammed him against the ground a few times, demonstrating that she was certainly no stranger to violence.

"You! How could you!" she screamed until she started crying. It took Axel a moment to realize she was in fact crying and not screaming and tentatively looked up at her. "I trusted you! You're taking advantage of him!" she wept miserably as Axel gently moved her off his torso and set her on the couch. "And you didn't even ask my permission!!" she wailed. Now that statement stopped Axel in his tracks.

"I what?" he questioned.

"You didn't ask my permission! He's just a kid, I'm his guardian while his parents are away!!" she shouted at him, jumping up and hitting his shoulder a few times before she sat back down and wailed. "I'm a horrible guardian!!"

Now Axel understood, he should have realized before that her anger was not directed at him but at herself. He almost felt bad…almost, his eye was starting to throb. "LeAnn, it's alright, you don't have to blame yourself, Roxas and I…well…it was love at first sight, you can't stop that!" he tried to console her. LeAnn wailed louder. "Hey now!!" he shook her roughly for a moment so she'd stop crying. "This is not your fault, no one is going to blame you!" Axel told her sternly, her eyes continued to be filled with misery.

"But they'll blame you and since he's underage they're gonna say that he seduced him!" she sniffled, "My best friend is gonna go to jail for banging my cousin!" she wailed again.

"Hey!! I have not, nor do I plan to "bang" your cousin!" Axel argued.

"Really?" Hope radiated from LeAnn's question.

"No! Never! I plan on making sweet, dirty love to him-," he was cut off as LeAnn's fist flew at him again. He caught it and effectively set her down again. "Listen, it's not your fault, it's not my fault, yeah the rules suck, but we'll keep it quiet till he's eighteen okay?" he asked her quietly. LeAnn stilled her struggling and looked avidly at a bookshelf in front of her. Finally she sighed and Axel let her go.

"Fine," she agreed.

"Really LeAnn?" Roxas asked shyly peeking out from the stairwell. How long he'd been listening Axel couldn't say. Both cousins looked at each other before she sighed.

"Yeah really I guess, I'm going home," she sighed as she stood up and quietly left. Axel wasn't sure if he should stop her but Roxas shook his head in the negative.

"She just needs to get over it, she'll be fine tomorrow, let's get your eye taken care of!" Roxas said as he wandered into the kitchen and got an ice pack.

"Just kiss it and make it feel better!" Axel suggested as he came up behind him and hugged him, his chin resting on the other's head.

"You're silly!" Roxas argued. He thought about asking Axel about the organization but the other was bsuy kissing his ears again.

"Let's go to bed," he suggested. "Nothing funny, I've had enough scares for one day, we'll take this slow alright?" he murmured. Roxas was a little disappointed but he supposed that he could live with that for awhile and he could understand the comment about scares, Roxas thought he was going to expire from shame when LeAnn burst in that door.

As the two made their way upstairs Axe refused to let go of Roxas' hand and again the youth had an undying passion to ask him about the Organization. Why didn't he remember him? Did he hit his head when he fell from the darkness? He was sure he hadn't, maybe there wasn't a huge reason as to why he couldn't remember, but why would that be?

Axel tugged Roxas up the second flight of stairs and pushed him into his bedroom.

"So, this is where the lion sleeps?" Roxas teased.

"Shut up and get in bed!" Axel smiled as he tugged off his shirt and pants to reveal his boxer shorts. The organization symbol was all over them. Roxas paled.

"Where did you get those?" he demanded. Axel paused and looked down, stilling for a moment.

"I've had them…in my drawer…" Axel told the truth.

"Were you apart of the Organization?" Roxas couldn't help the panic from creeping into his voice. He knew that he shouldn't be afraid, but something, something about all this wasn't right.

"Roxas not now, please!" Axel started in trying to come around the bed.

"NO!" Roxas shouted as he backed against the wall. "Answer me!"

"YES!" Axel shouted back. "I was in the Organization, I was number VIII," he said quietly.

"No! You can't have been, I don't remember you, you're just trying to trick me!" Roxas shouted.

"Why would I lie?! I have no reason to lie to you Roxas!" Axel argued as Roxas quickly dashed around him. "Roxas!" Axel took off after him but Roxas proved again to be the faster one as he was out the door and down the street before Axel could even think about following him. He stood on his front porch step staring blankly into the dark streets, what was that all about? He went back inside to dress and call LeAnn, whatever he had said, he'd seriously messed up.

-----

Roxas stopped running a few minutes after loosing sight of Axel's house. He fled down another alley and simply collapsed, shaking too hard to try and run again. He knew, he had known…why didn't he try and remind him? Was he wrong? Was this another trap and he was just blinded by it all? He didn't understand what was going on, he wanted to trust Axel, but he couldn't remember him, why couldn't he remember him?!

"I'm sorry!" A girls voice interrupted his angst and he looked up in time to see her on her hands in knees in front of him, dark, curly brown hair cascading down her back. She didn't look quite put together though, Roxas could clearly see through her. "I'm so sorry, I forgot!" she gushed as her gloved hand reached out and touched his hand.

"Wh-who are you?" Roxas demanded, terrified at the prospect that he might be seeing a ghost.

"No one special, I'm so sorry! It's all my fault you can't remember, I've had this memory with me and I haven't been able to get away from them!" she explained as she produced a small crystal ball. "Here, don't ever let this go and break it at the right moment, you'll know when! I have to go now I'm sorry!" She apologized again as she pulled away from him and stood to her feet, dusting off imaginary dirt. Roxas didn't get a chance to ask her any more questions since at that moment two things happened, one, she vanished in a flash of light and two, something came crashing down on his head and the world went black, his hand was still clutching the small crystal ball to his chest.


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER NINE**

"You jerk!" LeAnn hissed at him again as she smacked his shoulder harder than she had the last time. Axel was fairly certain that his whole arm would be black and blue by the time this was all over. They were still searching for Roxas, still not sure where he could have gone and they'd checked everywhere, Axel had even dug deep into his memory bangs was able to find the Usual Spot where he and his friends would hang out back in the old days.

Shortly after dressing (haphazardly) he'd ran over to LeAnn's house hoping that Roxas had gone there but the only person that greeted him was a tired and puzzled LeAnn who was obviously getting ready for bed. After giving him another black eye and bruising his shoulder a few times she agreed to help him and put on shoes and a jacket. She also grabbed a flashlight which by the looks of it wasn't so much to help find Roxas but to beam him over the head if they couldn't find him.

"So what did you say to him?" She finally demanded. Axel couldn't think of a convincing lie so he turned to her, effectively stopping her in her tracks and any tirade she'd been about to launch in to.

"Roxas isn't really your cousin, I'm pretty damn sure." He began. LeAnn's mouth dropped open. "We're not…normal, him and I," he barreled forward. "We didn't have hearts we're the nobodies of other's who've had their hearts stolen." He tried to explain. "There were 13 of us, well actually that's not true, I'm sure there were more but at least 13 of us were more powerful than the others, or the others didn't want to be found. Anyway, Roxas and I…we were lovers there but then Roxas went away and then he vanished. He was returned to his somebody, I thought he became that someone again. I tried to get him back, I did! But I couldn't, so I could only protect the one that was his somebody. I was still just a Nobody back then, how was I supposed to love a somebody?" he sighed. "Especially when he was already loved…" he added.

LeAnn couldn't think of what to say so she remained quiet and followed Axel as the redhead suddenly began walking again. "I died, I was in the darkness and then this girl's voice she offered to help me and the next thing I know I'm here! I'm here with my life and you're there in my life and I have no idea what's going on! The only reason I've been able to function is because I haven't been thinking about what the hell it is I'm doing. There are times I know what you're doing and what I'm doing and there are times where I have no idea what the hell is going on!" he shouted. "When I found Roxas again I was so happy I thought yes, it's perfect we're here and we'll be together again, but he doesn't remember me, I think he remembers everyone else, but he can't remember me!" he sounded like he was going to cry and before he knew it LeAnn had wrapped her arms around him and he was crying, sobbing quietly into her small shoulder. "I love him LeAnn, more than anything and I thought that after all of this, I searched and searched and searched for him, I lost so many friends looking for him and to have this…to have him so close and I can't have him, I can't do this anymore!" he cried again.

LeAnn didn't know what to do, the concept of hearts and Nobodies and whatever the hell Organization 13 was confused her. But what she did understand was love, and Axel obviously loved Roxas, but the fact that she could remember Roxas, could remember him as a baby and playing with him and teaching him things, they'd always been close, though LeAnn had to admit that over the last month or so he'd become incredibly distant and moody. How could she help? What could she do? She let Axel cry on her shoulder a bit longer before she pushed him away and looked up at him, an incredibly tender smile on her face.

"This may all be strange and new to you, but it's not for me, you're still my friend and Roxas is still my cousin. No matter what happens I will always help you and I will always be here for you both okay?" she couldn't keep the sparkling tears from overrunning her eyes and she blinked a few times to clear them. "So stop crying like a pussy and let's find him!" she added with another smack on his arm.

All things considered, though Axel winced as his bruised arm was pounded again, he suddenly felt much better about his situation, he supposed that LeAnn would need a pretty good and thorough explanation when this was all over. He nodded for a moment and wiped his eyes on his jacket sleeve before he turned and would have proceeded except that his foot stepped on a small round object and with a great shout he went flying and landed painfully on his back.

LeAnn was a little bit more prepared and saw the small crystal ball roll down the street as soon as Axel slipped on it. She immediately gave chase but the small crystal ball eluded her at every turn the moment she thought she'd catch it, it rolled away again. "AXEL!! Hurry up!!" she shouted over her shoulder before she ducked under a fence to keep going through the woods that were suddenly in her path. Finally the ball stopped and she grabbed it, eliciting a screech as the ghost of a girl popped up from under it. "Holy shit!" she dropped the ball again and jumped back into the newly arrived Axel who had to steady her as the girl picked up the crystal ball and held it out to him.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I gave it to him, but then that man came…I thought he'd hold it but it dropped." She tried to explain.

"That voice…you're the girl," Axel didn't get an answer out of her as she gave him the ball and vanished again. "LeAnn, that was girl…LeAnn?" he turned towards his friend who was staring avidly and in horror where the girl had been. "LeAnn what's wrong?"

"I hate ghosts!" she squealed as she did an odd sort of dance to wipe away the memories. Axel couldn't help but laugh at her until she smacked him again, screeching at him this time to shut up. But then, curiously she stopped. "Hey…it's that weird mansion…" she muttered as she walked past him and into the courtyard. Axel stood up and looked at the front gate, mouth hanging open. It was run down and dirty but it was still the same mansion, he vaguely wondered if the portal was still here.

"I wonder why it took us here…" Axel muttered, wondering if Roxas had come here he looked up into the windows and thought he saw a familiar swatch of blue hair and frantically grabbed LeAnn from going any further. "No, we have to leave now!" he said pulling her out of the courtyard and through the woods. She didn't argue with him for once until they were both safely back in the dark streets of Twilight Town.

"Oh hey…this is weird…" LeAnn suddenly commented as she turned down a small side street.

"Why is it werid?" Axel demanded as he followed.

"Richard lives down here, he owns like the whole block I think, he was buying up property a few years ago but he stopped about the time we showed up and opened shop down here," she mused. "Maybe you don't remember after everything that's happened, but that's alright I suppose," she shrugged. "I'll explain everything to you later," she smiled. Her soft shoes barely made a sound on the lamplit cobblestones as she swiftly and effectively found Richard Talbit's house. "I wonder why the ball led us here…" she wondered out loud.

-----

The ball led them here because currently Roxas was lying upstairs in Richard's room, bound and gagged. "I don't know why you're struggling, you aren't getting out," he shrugged.

"Why the hell are you doing this?" Roxas's voice cracked with panic as he tugged on his bonds.

"I told you, I want Raskoph and you're in my way. No one has ever treated me the way he did the other day, it was exciting and new," Richard practically melted with sadistic pleasure. With that he stuffed a rag into the teen's mouth then turned and left the room and Roxas continued to struggle. Hot tears impaired his escape plan, why had he asked? He should have just stayed with Axel, why was the Organizaion still ruining his life even when he wasn't a part of it. He was such an idiot.

He was strugging so hard that he almost didn't hear the door open till he clearly heard Axel's voice from below.

"Hey Richard, Roxas is missing have you seen him?"

"Why no! Look baby I know we ended on a sour note tonight but I'll keep an eye out for the kid," Richard was saying. Roxas screamed as loud as he could through the gag but Axel couldn't hear him. He tried to roll off the bed but couldn't quite wrench his hands free from the bonds. He didn't care about this anymore, he wanted to get out of here, he wanted to be back with Axel and LeAnn, he wanted to have a normal life, he wanted to get out of here! There was a crash downstairs and Roxas heard a familiar shriek and identified LeAnn now screaming at Richard.

"What the hell did you do that for you dumbfuck?! That ball was priceless!" The door then slammed and there was a muffled silence.

"Dumbfuck? How dare she, she's the bitch," he was heard to mutter. He sighed, this was much harder than he thought it would be, he'd kill Roxas quickly and dump his body near the mansion, kids were dying there all the time right? He walked into his bedroom and reeled back as a fist connected with his face. He didn't recover fast enough to stop Roxas from running past him.

Shortly after the crystal ball had been shattered Roxas remembered everything. His mind was awash with memories from the Organization and from the last few weeks. His shoes pounded the pavement once more, but he wasn't heading towards Axel's house, he was trying to find his way back home, back to his parents house. He didn't want to face Axel after what had happened, what would he say? After he ran out like that? Furious tears flew from his eyes as he ditched the town limits and kept running. He had to get away, had to get away and forget about Axel.

-----

At the moment that Roxas fled Richard's house, Axel's ears picked up a strange noise in that direction and took off again. "Axel?" LeAnn shouted after him, but the redhead kept running so she had no choice but to run after them but before she got very far the ghost girl popped up again. With a strangled screech LeAnn fell on her back and struggled to her feet, breathing hard.

"Holy shit what the hell do you want?" she gasped. It didn't escape her that the little girl looked a lot like her.

"It was the man in that house, he's going to try and kill them both!" she warned.

"With what??" LeAnn shouted at her.

"With magic! He's a bad wizard!" the ghost girl almost shouted at her. LeAnn would have simply run back the other way but at that moment there was an angry and teeth chattering howl from where the old mansion was. "Gotta go!" and with that she vanished and LeAnn bolted down the street after Axel, Roxas and by now, Richard. She wasn't sure what her presence would accomplish, all she wanted was to get away from the creepy mansion with the howling and the strange ghost girl that looked very much like her.


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER TEN**

As far as time lines are concerned, about the time LeAnn would have started running after them all, Roxas collapsed on the outskirts of town. He panted spastically and threw up what little he'd eaten that day. His legs were weak and shaking and he couldn't feel the air around him because his body was so hot. His eyes refused to blink and continued to stare forward, fear and confusion still evident in them. He could hear an ocean crashing below him, funny he didn't think he was on a cliff…his vision suddenly blurred a moment and he coughed again.

"Roxas!!" he could hear Axel shouting his name from a distance. He needed to show him that he was here, but he couldn't lift his arms anymore. He tried to shout but he had no voice, frustration gripped him completely and with his last remaining strength he forced himself to stand up. "Roxas!" Axel darted from the road to his side where he happily and gratefully collapsed into the redhead's arms. "Are you alright?"

It took everything Roxas had to nod his head. He felt Axel's lips descend on his and felt warm tears drip onto his face. "Thank god! I was so scared, where were you?" he murmured.

"I had him," Richard's voice cut through the tender moment like a whip. Axel looked up to see the older man panting furiously and standing there angrily, the vibe of power that had been radiating from him since they met suddenly became much stronger.

"Roxas stay here," Axel instructed him giving him a soft kiss on the forehead. A grip on his jacket sleeve made him smile. "I know you want to fight for me, but this time, let me fight for you!" he whispered as he set Roxas down and stood up.

"You can stop all this Raskoph! Just be with me! I'll love you and all you have to do is forget your little brat there and submit to me and my will. I know what you are, what you were, I could make you better, I have that power!" he pleaded. He was so focused on Axel and he didn't notice LeAnn sneaking up on him till she brought a large tree branch crashign down across his head.

"His name's not Raskoph, it's Axel, A-X-E-L got it memorized?" she demanded as she threw down the branch. Axel himself was stunned to hear that particular line comeing from her mouth; she looked at him and shrugged. "That's what you told me the first time we met, a long time ago," she smiled as she quickly moved out of the way of the now angry magician. "Do your thing!" she shouted at him as she ran behind him to get Roxas out of the way.

"What am I going to do with them Axel? They keep getting in the way of our love," Richard scoffed as he tossed a ball of magic at the retreating Roxas and LeAnn. Axel was quick to retaliate with a ball of fire. Richard didn't seem to be expecting that and blanched when he realized that Axel had power too.

"I don't think so Richard, you're deluding yourself, there's no love between us, my heart belongs to and always will belong to Roxas," he smirked as his hands erupted into flames. "Now let's make this fast!" he shouted as he rushed towards his new opponent.

-----

"What's going on?" Roxas rasped the moment that LeAnn set him down behind a pile of large rocks.

"Axel is fighting Richard; I guess he's a wizard of some sort…" LeAnn informed him. "I remember the rumors about him when we first came here, but of course I didn't believe any of them, I mean, I didn't believe in magic…" she admitted, wincing as she heard a body hit the ground. Her hand was tightly clutching his and Roxas suddenly had to venture a guess.

"You know about me and Axel right?" he whispered.

"Yeah, he explained it all to me, though I have to say I'm a little confused but I'm willing to work with that…" she shrugged. "You'll have to clue me in a little more when this is all over."

-----

Meanwhile Axel was struggling to breathe as Richard pressed down in his throat, a maniacal look in his green eyes. "If I can't have you, then no one can!" the cliché was almost too much to bear and Axel ignited one of his hands and smacked his attacker as hard as he could on the side of the face. Richard rolled away screaming in pain and Axel stood resolutely to his feet.

"Just shut the fuck up," and with that Axel summoned his chakram and with one fell swoop, ended the battle. He stared at the lifeless body for a moment before he suddenly panicked, what was he going to do with it? It wasn't like he was a Nobody anymore! However, before he would work himself into a pretty good state of hysterics LeAnn ran forward and took up the stick she had originally used to knock him down. With a few frustrated whacks she ran to the edge of the cliff and tossed the stick out into the ocean. As if to sense her plan Axel set the descending stick on fire and watched the flaming stick fall into the water.

He looked over to her with an extremely grateful look and put his weapons away before he went to see to Roxas. He didn't say anything, merely picked him up and gently carried him back to his house where LeAnn bid them goodbye and went back to her house to clean the blood off her clothes. "Take good care of him okay? He's still my cousin," she whispered before kissing his cheek and ruffling the unconscious teen's hair.

-----

Axel carefully undressed Roxas and himself as his large tub filled with water and gripped his hair in his hands till he thought he'd pull it out. He was nervous, relieved and confused all at the same time. After the water was at the perfect height he shut off the faucet and lowered both Roxas and himself into the tub. He reached over and gently soaped up a washcloth and cleaned the sweat and dirt from his face. He'd passed out shortly after Axel had picked him up and had stayed that way all the way home. He hoped he'd be this way for awhile as Axel got his emotions back under control.

Everything was over, he had Roxas back and he was safe here with him. He hugged him tightly almost afraid that it wasn't true. He continued to clean him until the water cooled and then took him out and put him carefully on the bed while he showered and scrubbed himself clean of Richard and the events of the evening. As he stepped back into the bedroom, bathtowel around his waist he saw that the clock told him it was almost dawn. He wearily turned off the alarm and after tucking Roxas in he crawled in next to him and passed out himself, one arm securly wrapped around his waist.

-----

Roxas woke up the next morning, warm, clean and snuggled tightly against an equally warm and clean Axel…and they were both stark naked. It took him a moment to realize that this moment was real, that he was really here with Axel and that they both had hearts. He didn't know how that strange ghost girl was involved but he had a feeling that he'd find out when the time was right. Then maybe she'd tell him why she gave him a heart when he'd returned to Sora.

Slowly he sat up and looked down at Axel, he looked so much different than the last time he'd seen him. Softly he reached down and stroked his tangled red hair marveling at how soft and textured it was. Suddenly Axel's hand reached up and gripped his wrist, one bright green eye popped open and with deliberate slowness Axel tugged Roxas's hand down and kissed it reverently. "You're awake," Roxas whispered.

"And horny," Axel added as he looped his arm around Roxas and dragged him down for a scorching kiss. There was a brief struggle as Roxas hurried to tug down the sheets and then melted his naked body against Axel's. "I love you," he whispered as he swiftly turned them over and latched onto his neck, eagerly leaving small burn marks on his neck. Nothing serious but they would certainly be there for awhile. He shivered with excitement, anticipating what would happen.

"Axel, don't be gentle just do it, I want this too!" Roxas groaned when the redhead licked his shaft. All of Axel's resolve and patience went out the window. Before he knew it he was buried deeply into the teen and thrusting away amid gasps of pain and pleasure. "Ugh!! Fuck Axel!! Faster!" Roxas moaned. Axel couldn't obey fast enough and soon they were both groaning as they completed.

"That wasn't fair," Axel panted as his face rested against his lover's stomach, soon after he pulled out. "I wanted to make love to you, slowly, gently," Roxas smiled and rolled his eyes, though he could hear the remorse in Axel's voice he doubted that he was that upset. "I missed you," he sighed.

"I wish I could say the same, but that's only because I didn't remember you…but I still loved you," Roxas pointed out when Axel turned a pouting face up to him. "I think that no matter what happens I'll always love you," he grabbed Axel's hand and put it palm down over his chest. "This is my heart, mine, not Sora's, not anyone's…and it's my heart that I give to you," he whispered with all the maturity of a man twice his age as he leveled the most heated stare he could at Axel.

"I guess I owe her a huge amount of thanks…" Axel sighed. "I just wish I knew who she was…" he shrugged.

"Who?" Roxas demanded, thinking he meant LeAnn.

"Some girl, she kinda looked like LeAnn, she gave me my heart and she gave me you again…I'm sure of it," he whispered as he turned them over again so that Roxas was reclining on his chest. He clutched his hand gently and stared up into his blue eyes, just enjoying the view. "Well I guess it doesn't matter really, you're here, with me, and I'm happy," he sighed as he looped another arm around Roxas and kept his promise of loving him slowly…and thoroughly.

-----

After their joyful reunion Roxas permanently moved in with Axel and LeAnn hurriedly explained why this was necessary to his parents. They were the perfect picture of domesticity. Roxas assumed the role of housewife (when he wasn't going to school, getting great grades and excelling at sports) and took control of the cooking and cleaning. Axel continues to work as an architect and has taken over several projects that were abandoned by Richard Talbit's estate, his murder case has gone cold and most residents have forgotten that he even lived here in Twilight Town.

Life was good for Axel and Roxas, though a bit…boring after everything they'd been through. So imagine their surprise when one night, while walking home after dinner they were alerted to three familiar bodies by a well-known heartless sporting a light blue bow around her neck. From that moment their life together became much more interesting….

**THE END**


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